Look back: Last season was one Gopher fans probably thought would never end. After opening with a victory over Middle Tennessee State, Minnesota proceeded to lose nine in a row, forcing the school to fire Tim Brewster mid-season. The team did salvage a pair of win against Iowa and Illinois at season’s-end however the damage was done. Kill was brought in from Northern Illinois in the offseason with hopes of resurrecting a once proud program.

Strengths: While questioned by some in the media and fan base that he wasn’t a splashy hire, Kill has had a history of resurrecting programs. He did it at Southern Illinois and lastly at Northern Illinois. … Despite finishing close to dead last in the conference in rushing, Minnesota does return both of its leading rushers in Deleon Eskridge and Duane Bennett. Both combined for over 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

Weaknesses: With the loss of Adam Weber, Kill was forced to make some tough decisions and one of those was moving Marqueis Gray from wide receiver to quarterback, allowing the coaching staff to use his speed as a factor. However, inexperience and struggles with the passing game could make his transition a bumpy one. … Kill will realize quickly that this isn’t DeKalb anymore and he won’t have a Huskies defense that was ranked 26th in the nation in total defense last year. The Gophers were bad on defense, finishing 76th in total defense in the nation while giving up 33 points per game last season.

Outlook: Kill has done some great things in the past two coaching stops however resurrecting Minnesota’s football program will take time along with patience. While the Gophers could see some early success, with home games against New Mexico State, Miami of Ohio and North Dakota State however, the later part of the schedule is brutal with the team finishing up against six teams that were bowl-bound last season.